Sunday, March 24, 2013

Yanks on verge of trading for Vernon Wells

According to the NY Post the Yankees are closing in on a trade for Angels OF Vernon Wells.  Wells is owed $21 Million per year for the next 2 seasons but the Angels are likely to eat a large portion of that.  Buster Olney just tweeted that the Yankees share of the contract ill be about $13 Million over the 2 years. Excuse me, but I just threw up in my mouth!

The Yankees lineup has been absolutely decimated with injuries as it was announced today that Derek Jeter will likely join Teixeira, Granderson & ARod on the Disabled List to start the season.  The lineup looks terrible with all of the injuries coupled with the lack of upgrades in the off-season. BUT, this trade for Wells looks like a desperation move that will just make it even harder to get under the $189 Million Tax threshold net year. Vernon hit a dismal .230/.279/.403/.682 last year which was right in line with the .218/.248/.412/.660 line he put up in 2011.  That is a .258 On Base Percentage over the last 2 seasons spanning 791 Plate Appearances!! .258!! Is there no one on the current roster who can get on base more than that?

When will this leadership team ever go with some youth or some new blood? If Wells was free and didn't cost anything it would be worth a flier but for this production the Yanks are going to pay $13 Million?!? I don't get it. Sure Wells will provide an occasional HR and he might be a tad better than the Francisco, Mustelier, Mesa group they currently have but if bringing in this guy blocks us from making other moves next season because of the $189M mandate then it will be a disgrace.

66 comments:

  1. This goes against everything that happened this offseason. If they are really paying him $13 million, which I refuse to believe, then I believe the $189 million mandate is no more. Something is clearly not adding up. This has Hal's stink written all over it by wanting to bring in a "big name" to sell tickets.

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  2. Either the Yankees are getting something more in this deal or that number is wrong. Nothing about that adds up or makes sense.

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  3. You're absolutely right Matt. This $13 Million could have been much better spent. they could have had a legitimate starting catcher and LH power hitter in Pierzynski for HALF that. In fact AJ, Ibanez and Chavez all could have been brought back for less than $13M. A starting catcher, 3B & DH

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  4. Fish, hell for what they are paying Ichiro and Wells $26 MILLION thye should have just brought back Swisher even. Olney now reporting the WBC is paying Tex's contract for the time he is on the DL. Olney seems to have the Yankees' ear, so I can see this as an excuse as to why they decided to pay a bum in Wells instead of better players in the offseason. They might say oh we got all this extra money now because the WBC is paying Tex. Bullshit

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  5. Big question is who is pulling the strings on this? I find it hard to believe its Cashman. Has Hal's stink all over it like I said.

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  6. Possibly, but are they that stupid to think Vernon Wells will sell even 1 more ticket?

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  7. Sherman tweeted that the Yankees will pay almost all of the $13m this year and not in $14. For that price what not go get Morneau? He can actually contribute and they need 1B way more than OF.

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  8. And now he tweets that they are comfortable paying him this because of money saved on Tex, just like I had suspected they would. Unreal

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  9. They save $7M on Tex, so its OK to waste $13M on a chump? The worst part is this guy is now guaranteed a job for at least all of this yr and likely next yr too. Both Chris Stewart and Andruw Jones had better OBP% than Wells last 2 seasons.

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  10. $13m for 2 yrs of 35 yr old Vernon Wells but didn't even look at 28 yr old Melky Cabrera for $16m over 2 yrs

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  11. My goodness, what a FUBAR this is...Vernon can't play much better than those we already have. Making a choice between an over the hill old player that will not be any better than Musty and a few others!
    There is no way Cashman has a hand in this at all, it has to be the Tampa Mafia again. It is amazing to me how Hal will let a want-to-be GM (Randy et el) push a player we don't need nor want on the team.
    Dumb, dumber and dumbest think they know more about talent than those Cash has evaluating it for the team.

    This is a joke, right?

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  12. I have been saying it for years that Cashman is a terrible GM. In the past he has had the ability to buy his way out of his messes and now he can't. I don't by that crap that since Tex's contract is being paid for we all of a sudden have money. Where was this money in December, we could have given martin more money. Cashman has become the poster child for moron ever since the boss has died.

    This clean has become a womanizer and cheated on his wife with skank's and has repelled down buildings and jumped out of airplanes while our farm system continues to suck. We have no ope level pitching prospects and all of his so called minor league talent is in Double A or below, yet we continue to compliment this schmuck. The dynasty of this franchise was built by Stick Michael and Bob Watson, not this clown known as Cashman. Hal sell the team to an owner like Mark Cuban because you too are a moron. Let's get under the cap so we can save millions of dollars, yet lets risk losing fans and more importantly the value of the Yankees which is billions. Every genius in economics know that it is better to save millions but risk losing billions.

    You now have coupled the two worst at their occupation together in Cashman and Hal. When will someone wake up and smell the coffee?

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  13. Face it the clown know as Cashman and the worst owner in sports have no Effing clue. This team needs to be blown up and started from the ground up. I would rather lose that way then buy adding more over the hill scrubs

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  14. Believe me Cashman the womanizer has his hands all over this along with Hal the worst owner in sports. Both need to take along walk off a short pier. This team will be the new bottom feeders of the AL East and believe with all the players injured weren't helping this team make the playoffs anyway.

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  15. old yankee, I agree this trade makes no sense, I would have gone with Musty.

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  16. This is where you have gone off the deep end, the Yanks have made the playoffs more than any other team in the history of the world. You sound like a spoiled fan when you go this route. Most of the Yanks problems this year are due to injuries last year in the minors and major injuries this year. Most GMs and owners would be in the same boat.

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  17. So lets look at some of the deals your boy cashman has done and lets comment on them. He has not drafted one stud pitcher in his organization. He has either signed or traded for the following busts in no particular order. Kevin Brown, Jared Wright, Javy Vasquez twice, Carl Pavano, Jose Feliciano, Kei Igawa, Jeff Weaver. Has added more stiffs to his teams then a local cemetery. Didn't want to add Soriano, yet without Soriano we would not have made the playoffs last year. Has built his team on the long ball, yet when playoffs come he can't get out of the first rd. All those teams you speak of that have made the playoffs were a result of Stick Michael and Bob Watson grooming the farm system with the core four. Those players were not drafted by cashman. Get your facts straight boys because cashman has been able to buy his way out of his mistakes in the past and with the penny pincher Hal it isn't going to happen. He has no prospects ready to take the next step, all are in double A or below so before you say I am spooled just look at the facts, Cashman gets more credit than he deserves.

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  18. No question Lefftee, Cashman has made mistake after mistake and bought his way out of them. Now that he can't do that, he's completely bewildered.

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  19. Michael I agree with you 100%. The younger Yankee fan doesn't realize the core four was drafted during the Stick Michael Bob Watson run and not by Cashman. Our farm system is one of the worst in baseball. Now the replies I get on that is that we draft at the end of the rounds, true, however lets compare the Ray's pitching staff to that of the Yankees in terms of drafting goes. Every starter the Ray's have has been drafted in the second round and lower except for David Price who was a first rd pick, which means that every other Ray's pitcher could have been drafted by Cashman and company.

    Second Cashman hasn't produced one stud or 20 game winner out of the farm, in fact he drafted Brackman who he knew need TJ Surgery in the first rd. Where is Brackman now? Out of baseball the last time I looked. Betances and Manny B are both busts. Let's luck at what our farm system has done for us in the infield? Cano and Jeter and again Jeter wasn't drafted by Cashman and Cano was a FA signing. Cervelli is terrible and in the outfield you have Gardner that was drafted and the pitching staff has been suspect with drafting of Hughes and Phelps right now is hit or miss and Robertson was a pretty decent draft pick.

    Again my point is that Cashman is a terrible evaluator of talents, especially in the pitching department and in a previous post I pointed out all the mistakes he has made with pitching. Instead of getting younger we add more payroll and more broken down players that are now has-beens. Is this all of Cashman's fault...No Hall sucks as an owner and to see this team finish in third or below makes me think that we should just blow this team up now and get younger and take our lumps and trade Cano at the deadline and get a package for him instead of tying us down with his up-surd contract that one of the LA teams will give him and I for one would rather have a package of players back for Cano than the draft pick which Cashman will screw up anyway.

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  20. May I point out once again...if you think Cashman has made all those trades you are out of your head.
    He has to put up with more interference than any GM in the business, from those that are his bosses and think they know what is talent and what isn't.
    Last time I heard, Cashman didn't want A-Rod, Tex, Soriano, Pavano etc. Cashman has been the one that built the farm system, although Watson, Stick and one you left out....Showalter got it started! One doesn't build a strong farm when you get the last pick in each round and sometimes none. It takes a lot of time and even the best players (when drafted) don't make it because of injuries or many other reasons. Cash has had to take injured and unsignable players year after year and some have come through and some haven't, It happens to every team.
    I still wonder why every time his contract comes up, other teams are trying to sign him...if he is so bad, why?
    It is so easy to hate, that which you have no knowledge of...!
    Cashman is the Yankee GM until he quits, so live with it! Is he the best GM for the Yankees or anyone else, I don't know and you don't either! As long as he is the GM of the Yankees, he is a Yankee and will have my suport...even if I don't like what I see sometimes. Every Yankee has some faults, so what, they are our team!

    Try thinking of his bosses being his biggest problem...Hal, Hank and the worse of them all, Randy!
    Granted, this is not the team I would like to have but, that is what we have so get use to it!

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  21. You're entitled to your opinion as I am and to me Cashman is a joke. You want him as your GM then good for you, me I don't wand a womanizer who cheats on his wife with Skanks and rapells down walls and jumps out of planes when he has bigger fish to fry in fixing this team. You're wrong again as far as draft position because you can draft jewels in the later rds and I pointed that out to all you genius's with the Ray's drafting of their pitchers. Only Price was a first rd pick so the Yankees could've drafted anyone of their pitchers and chose not to so please don't tell me about draft order because the farms system is terrible and its a shame you can't accept fact instead of the fiction world you are living with and as a season ticket holder who dropped his tickets because of this pathetic product that will hit the field I don't have to accept this team.

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  22. Lefftee...
    You hit a few points on the head and missed some others..in my opinion.Of course I am older than anyone will ever get so I am usually wrong so I have been told !
    Cashman is not an evaluator of talent, he is a GM and others do that for him...same as most GMs. He also doesn't produce any players...he signs those that his people recommend. Our Farm system is now rated in the top half of all systems. If we have no 1st round pick and many times 2nd round also...that means our fist pick was around the 125th pick a lot of the times. Tell me how many top players are still around by then?
    Brackman had a high up side and was a good pick IF, all went well with his making a pitcher out of himself...it didn't happen.
    Your point about Cano is right on the nose, I would do the same thing as you stated. And letting the younger guys play would be the answer in the long run, we have some guys with talent enough to out play Wells! We need guys that can get on base and take the extra base when needed, not guys to old to go from 1st to 3rd on a single.
    No one would say Cashman has not made mistakes, he has...as have all the other GMs over the years. That is part of the business, don't you know!
    Me thinks, I will be told once again, I am an old fuddy duddy, so be it...I'm having fun anyway!

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  23. Go Leftee!

    OldYankee has a blind spot when it comes to CashMan. He doesn't get that talent evaluation falls under the GM role and the buck stops with CashMan.

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  24. Leftee -don't forget the Randy Johnson bust and Clemens three debacle.

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  25. Leftee-and what about the 2010 un-needed renovation

    Thames
    Winn
    Park
    Vazquez
    Johnson

    Even CashMan admitted he stunk that off season.

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  26. The core four as their called would not have won a thing without a great pitching staff which was mostly made up of free agents. Let's remember that the Yanks are not drafting from the top like they were in the early 90's of which many of their draft picks never made it to the bigs. As for judging a GM on free agent signings that get injured, I think is not fair. No GM has a crystal ball. The Rays are considered the best a drafting talent and they have missed the playoffs twice I believe in their prime, picking at the top of the draft. You could say Price and Longo are their only top picks, but they are their only stars. Same with the Nats, their two young stars both came at the top of the draft. Most of the great talent is coming from the top of the first round, where the Yanks never pick. The players assoication was a napping during this last CBA, it is another nail in the coffin for the big market teams. What the MLB has to realize, the big market teams like the Yanks,Sox,Phils, and others draw 3 million fans a year, while teams like the Rays and A's draw like minor league teams. The future of baseball is with the big market clubs being successful.

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  27. twasp, the Yanks don't win the last few years without Colon, Garcia, Chavez, Jones, and Ibanez. Hindsight is 20/20. The biggest problems the Yanks have going forward are the new CBA, the increased revenue of other teams due to TV contracts, and A-Rods contract, none of which Cashman had anything to do with.

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  28. Thank you doug, I think the blind spot is with some others when it comes to Cashman. The buck stops with him is right on but, as we are not privy to what goes on behind the cover that Cashman give the Bosses (as GM), it is easy to put the blame on him for everything that goes wrong and forget the things (as you said) go right.
    No one need make excuses for Cashman, he has made mistakes but so have all the other GMs around the league.
    I just say, Cashman is our GM, for better or worse...get use to it. If he wants to he, can leave when his contract is up and I think he may just do it. He was promised to have the final say on running the club but, has had interference at every turn. Hal sets the guide lines which Cash has to follow, but after that it is his call...but it has changed with Hal and Randy thinking they know more than everyone else does!
    I know, if he is gone, most of you guys will be happy! Just remember, it could be worse...we could have Joe Torrie as our GM!

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  29. Nice of you to drop by again twasp.
    Hay, was I right about Jeter needing more time? Can you say...YES?
    My ankle still huts (sometimes) to this day.
    I have been working out at the field house every day and seeing improvement with my left hand every week. Hitting is about the same as always...good! As of now, I can play 2nd and hit but have all sorts of trouble with flexibility of my left hand yet...so, no pitching!
    Work is good with a lot of hours for you yet?
    Keep on keeping on!

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  30. Lefftee...then don't accept the team! It is your right to do that.
    You are right on one point...one can draft a jewel in the latter rounds and have been lucky enough to do so but, it is not by design...it is by accident rather than smart drafting.
    Cashmans life is his business, not yours or mine and has nothing to do with his job. One need not approve of his life style, it is how he does his job...not how he lives!
    Good Yankee fans b-tch and cuss about the team and who is no good and who they should get rid of etc., but, they don't quit on them...ever!
    I have been following the Yankees for over 60 years, maybe it takes those of us who lived through the good and bad years to appreciate the ups and downs and are not spoiled by the last 10-16 years. It is not written anywhere that the Yankees must win every year!

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  31. Hey Ken....I was just about to put up a post saying that you were right on the nose when you predicted that Jeter could never make it back that quick. Good job.

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  32. If you define success as making the playoffs then CashMan has done a good job. And the guys you mentioned we're nice acquisitions.

    But if you define success as winning the WS then he has failed quite miserably considering the money he had to spend.

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  33. Ken....I don't think we have to "get use" to CashMan.....I think he is close to imploding.

    Mistresses , stalkers, Vernon Welles,.....one championship in 12 years?

    That noise on your roof is Cash repelling,

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  34. You da man Ken.....commute was too long so I quit my job. Twasp and the pope.

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  35. Ken...gotta "hand" it to you......your age and your injuries and you are still out on the field ......admirable.

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  36. Twasp you're 100 percent on that, the GM is the boss of the baseball operations which fall under the farm system and evaluating talent, so Cashman is responsible for the draft and player development and all those stupid rules such as the jobs rules that have clearly ruined him as a player. Again I want to point out about the draft because Old Yankee is having and old time moment.

    It doesn't matter where you draft because there are first rd busts aka Brackman and there are Jewels in I believe the 29th rd aka Donnie Baseball. The Ray's have the best pitching staff in the Al East Price, Moore, Hellickson, Cobb, and Nieman and only Price was a first rd pick which means the Yankees could have drafted each of the players from rd 1 on. Cashman has been able to buy his way out of his mistakes before, however coupon clipper Hal now has caused him to go even lower on the food chain with guys like Wells.

    As long as Hal and Cashman are around there will be no playoffs for this team. All their so called talent is double A or lower and Cashman doesn't believe a player can make the jump from Double A without visiting every single team in our farm system. A joke of a GM and a terrible owner spells doom

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  37. Old timer, just fyi I have been following the Yankees since the 60's so don't go patting yourself on the back just yet that you have seen the good and bad because I too have seen the Horace Clark days along with Celerino Sanchez and Jerry Kenny and the rest of the stiffs.

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  38. twasp, people who define success a winning the world series have no clue of how hard that is to do, or how unpredictable the playoffs are today. You can't buy a championship. The best teams in the regular season rarely win, that should tell you something. Even Florida Gulf Coast has a chance in a short series.

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  39. old yankee, I think in is very narrow minded to start complaining about Cashman in the mist of all the Yankee injuries, no GM should be evaluated when half of his line-up is injured.

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  40. twasp, one championship in 12 years, sounds like a spoiled Yankee fan. How many teams have won the world series since 2009? How many AL East have won a championship since 2009? How many championships have the Rays won?

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  41. Cashman now a days since the boss has passed away is more concerned with rapelling down buildings and jumping out of planes and more importantly cheating on his wife with skank's instead of building our farm system up and making moves to strengthen our team

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  42. lefftee, your right but only Price and Longo are star players and they were drafted at the top. The Rays have realized that they can't win in the playoffs without better players. Last year their defense was near the bottom, and their hitting was lacking. That's why they traded Shields to get another top of draft star. Washington is built around Stasburg and Harper, and the Tigers were built around Verlander. Drafting players out of HS is as unpredictable as the playoffs. Moore is a good example, did the Rays wait until the later rounds to draft him because they knew he was good, or did he just fall in their lap. Remember they pasted up on him like all the other teams.

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  43. Lafftee...
    I was just pointing out, as a very long time Yankee fan (1st game in 1948), I have been true to the Yankees...no matter what!
    The team is what makes them Yankees...not one player, one GM or owner!
    Nice to have an older Fan around that doesn't think it is our place to be in the WS every year!

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  44. Ha ha how can I be spoiled when I can hardly afford to go to games. And will never see a game close up anymore. $2k seat? For those prices and a $200m salary budget , don't you think we DESERVE MORE THAN ONE? Boston and Philly did.

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  45. Yankees bought a championship in 2009 , without the money they spent on Tex, AJ and CC.....no way they win.

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  46. twasp, alot of teams add free agents with no luck, last year it was the Rangers adding Darvish, and the Angels adding Pujols. This year it was the Dodgers and Angels again. Heck the Phils couldn't even win the series adding Halliday and Lee.

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  47. twasp, your comparing the Yanks to the Phils who won one and the Sox who won 2 in 80 years, come on!

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  48. Come on yourself ...are you having a senior moment ......you have to look at the expenditures.

    Red Sox have spent 25% less then the Yankees over the last 12 years yet have won 2 championships to Cashmans one.

    Phillies have spent 33% less than CashMan over the last 12 years and have made the show as many times.

    Tampa has spent 50% less than CashMan over the last 12 years and has as many championships as the Yankees under CashMan.

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  49. Doug - adding free agents to make a team successful is a crap-shoot in your opinion and has nothing to do with talent evaluation, projecting performance, fit etc....

    Isn't it he GMs job to know a little more than his competition and be able to pick better than them?

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  50. Cashman and every Yankee knows it is World Series or bust. That is the mantra and has been and even the womanizer states that so yes he is a failure especially losing to Florida and Arizona in the World Series. If you are going to give him credit for all those WS wins then you need to step up and look at those loses

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  51. bewasp, you have no clue, the Giants won the series last year not the Sox, Phils, or Tampa Rays.

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  52. Doug .........the Giants did it spending a lot less money than Cash wasted.

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  53. twasp, under the old CBA the Rays not only were drafting at the top, but they had many more picks than the Yanks. They had more top picks that failed than the Yanks. Who are there stars other than Price and Longo?

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  54. twasp, the Giants did it with great pitching all of which was drafted in the the first round other than Vogelsong when the were picking high. Lincecum, Bumgartner, and Cain were all #10 in the first round.

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  55. Who do these players play for: Beckham, Lobstein, Jeffries, Morrison, Glmejman, Bailey, Kline, Barneses,Beill, Salem, all were drafted in the first four rounds for the Rays. That's why it's a crap shoot. Rays went out and traded for Will Meyers because they are drafting where the Yanks are drafting now. They know they can't get another Price or Longo unless they get lucky.

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  56. Yes, Doug, you proved my point , it's all about evaluation of talent.

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  57. I don't know why you call it luck ?

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  58. Tommy Twasp....Good to be on the same page with you again.
    I was up against the clock last night, and my thoughts drifted a bit.
    I had a question for you...........Can I run it by you?

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  59. Sure what is it Patrick?

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  60. Tommy....it's been a while, but would you be interested in signing me on, to
    be your wing man, as we move forward. An old sea dog like me, would enjoy running
    along side of you.
    It would be my pleasure.

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  61. Ok, Patrick you have the job! Good luck. The men's room is two aisles down.

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  62. Thomas....I'm on as wing. Thanks. The men's room? You can find others better qualified.
    I was hoping you would accept. Must turn in. Morning comes early for me, at this time of year.
    Stay strong.

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  63. twasp, hardly, not as tough to pick winners in the top ten, you have a much better chance of picking the right guy. Although the O's could have drafted all those pitchers.

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  64. Doug- if it's not about evaluation of talent then what is it about? Randomness, luck?

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  65. twasp, I don't call it good talent evaluation when the Rays pick Matt Moore in the 8th round, I think they got lucky. Nobody evaluated him as a top talent, not even the Rays. You can't say their scouts knew he was going to be that good or they would have drafted him higher. Picking high school players is like hitting a baseball, if you bat .300 you are great. It's a game of failure.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)